Snow Cone
by charredfeathers
Summary: “Rukia-san, if you don’t start walking on the sidewalk, you will get run over a rickshaw sooner or later.” HitsuRuki AU.
1. Knight in Shining Armor

**Snow Cone**

….

**Summary: **"Rukia-san, if you don't start walking on the sidewalk, you will get run over a rickshaw sooner or later." HitsuRuki AU.

**Author-person: **Yes, yes, I am hooked. I've been a huge fan of IchiRuki, GrimmRuki and even UkiRuki… but ever since I read my first HitsuRuki fic, 'Shelter', I've always wanted to write something for the cute pair. And now, after months of wracking my brain for a satisfying idea, I finally present to you this little two-shot.

OOC-ness.

Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Bleach, or any other anime'. So please leave this impoverished sixteen-year-old alone.

….

"Nii-sama," I said in a whisper as I fumbled with my obi sash, trying to tuck in my small handkerchief without disturbing the rest of my clothing.

My brother tilted his head to the side, supposedly to acknowledge that he'd heard me whining again. I was mildly irritated by his lack of response, but I could not really do anything about it. He was the Clan Head, after all. Childish antics were unacceptable in his eyes, and it was really a wonder that he hadn't reprimanded me for protesting against what I was being forced to do.

"Nii-sama," I said again. This time, he closed his eyes and scrunched up his eyebrows as if he was trying to block out my voice. I frowned at this and desperately wished that he would hear my pleas.

He didn't, much to my dismay. He simply raised a cup of tea to his lips.

I gave an exasperated sigh and admitted defeat after realizing that Nii-sama could play this game of Ignore Adopted Little Sister all day long. I had no choice but to turn my attention (albeit unwillingly) to the boy that sat across from me at the table. He was showing no signs of interest in me whatsoever… and somehow I was glad to know that. He seemed more fascinated (engrossed would be a more suited term) by the antique swords that my brother kept in a glass case at the other end of the room… A sword junkie, I thought, and laughed inwardly.

However, about the same time that I concluded that he was an enthusiast, he turned his head to face me. I looked away quickly and kept myself busy by tracing the patterns on the sleeves of my kimono. This could not keep me occupied for long, though. Soon enough, I was tempted to look at him again and found that he had returned to examining Byakuya's collection. It was then that I decided to take further note of his features.

His spiky, snow white hair piqued my interest just as much as his tanned skin seemed to entice the young maids that served us afternoon tea. It was rather unusual for anyone to have such oddly-colored hair, and he reminded me somewhat of an old friend that owned the confectionary a few blocks from my home. The old friend, I loved dearly, but this white-haired boy? I'd rather someone throw him into a pit of vipers.

I almost jumped when Nii-sama cleared his throat, and I was quite certain the boy almost did the same. He coughed and looked at me. This time, with a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Your sister is very… charming, Kuchiki-san. And I would be very much honored to take her hand in marriage." He was very confident of himself when he said this. And his rather cocky attitude annoyed me even more.

"I apologize. I have to decline your offer."

He raised an eyebrow and chuckled in amusement.

It was undeniably true that he had manners as that of a true aristocrat and spoke with such formality that tended to bore me as time passed, but I could hardly believe that this man… this_ child_… was approximately a year older than me. He looked no more than twelve years old!

"Rukia," Nii-sama said in his deep baritone. "Declining is not an option."

"But--!"

"Rukia."

"Yes, Nii-sama.

My frowned deepened. Truly, this day could not have gotten any worse. I was being engaged to some snotty, twelve-year-old-looking aristocrat by my own flesh and blood! Well, that was technically a lie. Byakuya was only my adoptive brother, but that's besides the point. I did not want to get into an arranged marriage, especially when my husband-to-be was a certain Hitsugaya Toushiro. My brother could not have been serious when he agreed to match me up with this… this… diminutive man! It was simply outrageous, to say the least.

As I was wallowing in my misery, the door rolled open. Nemu, our head maid, gave a deep bow and entered the room. She whispered something in Byakuya's ear (which seemed to be concerned with the family business for he adopted his troubled expression) and handed him a few papers to read. He bowed apologetically at our 'guest' and skimmed through a few pages before rising to his feet. I attempted to stand as well, but he gave me a stern look that caused my knees to buckle from under me.

"You'll have to excuse me, Hitsugaya-san." He said, his slate-grey eyes never leaving me. I bowed my head in embarrassment. "It seems that I have urgent business to attend to. Would it be alright for you to keep my sister company? It is a good opportunity for you to be acquainted with each other."

My jaw hung open as his words registered in my brain. Acquainted with each other? I wanted gouge the white-haired boy's eyes out if I could, but getting acquainted with him was the last thing I had in mind. And so when I recovered from my semi-shocked state, I tried to protest.

"I--"

"Of course. It would be my pleasure." Hitsugaya's lips twitched upwards, and I would have absolutely loved to rip that smug smile off of his face if Nii-sama hadn't shot me another look. Again, I could do nothing but cuss inwardly.

The Kuchiki Clan Head bowed goodbye and left me and the Hitsugaya-brat in the room. I furrowed my brows in irritation and gave the boy my best glare.

Unfortunately, he seemed not to notice because he continued to eye me still. He blinked a few times and sighed wearily. "Hey you,"

I was so sure that my eyes almost popped from their sockets. How rude! How dare he address me like that? It would have been alright if we were close friends or family, but we did not even know each other… How could a boy from such an influential family neglect to show respect to others?

"That was quite disrespectful of you, Hitsugaya-san," I said icily. "I believe manners are compulsory when within this household."

"I apologize. But you haven't been giving me a whole deal of respect either. With your continuous glaring and blatant display of dislike towards me, I felt that I needed to return the favor of being equally disrespectful." He tucked his arms in the sleeves of his dark-colored hakama and eyed me again.

I felt uncomfortable under his gaze. So much so, that I had to shift in my kneeling position and avoid his brilliant teal eyes. Yes, I hated him for his arrogance. But I could not deny that he was, in a way, pleasing to the eyes. He was short for a seventeen-year-old, but other than that, he was quite good-looking. Any other girl would have jumped off Mount Fuji to be his bride.

But not me.

I huffed at his conceited reply and decided to fix my gaze at my small hands which were, at the moment, clutching the knee of my kimono with a great deal of strength. I found pleasure in this and imagined that I was wringing his neck.

Time seemed to stretch on as we stayed within the confines of the four walls. I wanted so much to excuse myself and maybe just leave him there alone until he got bored and went back to wherever ditch he came from… but I was afraid to disappoint Nii-sama. Why, you may ask. Because, when one is faced to decide whether he or she would choose to drown in a koi pond or disobey the Kuchiki Clan Head, the decider would most definitely choose death by drowning over facing Kuchiki Byakuya's unparalleled wrath.

I sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and lifted my eyes to look at the quiet aristocrat again. He was gazing at me with intent and I felt the sudden need to blush. I felt pathetic.

"What is the matter?" I asked, proud that I said this in my deep, commanding voice.

Hitsugaya simply tilted his head and stood up.

"We're going out."

"What?"

….

"Rukia-san, if you don't start walking on the sidewalk, you will get run over a rickshaw sooner or later."

"How is one run over a rickshaw?" I said, a vein throbbing on the side of my head.

He shrugged and kept on walking on the side of the road while I insisted on staying on the street. I'd prefer to keep a good great distance away from him as to not make the impression that I actually enjoyed his company (which I really didn't).

"You are stubborn." He shook his head and looked at me again with those brilliant teal orbs.

"And you, sir, are quite rude. No gentleman would call a woman stubborn , or hard-headed. It's offending."

"Oh? So how would you like me to describe you?"

I stopped suddenly and he did the same. Er, I won't say that I didn't feel particularly awkward with his question, since I did not like the answer that followed it (which I believed he already knew judging from the amused look in his eyes). I scuffed my wooden sandal on the dirt road and wracked my confused brain for a good enough reply.

I could not find any.

It was practically custom for a man to speak good things about a woman. It was part of etiquette, I suppose. But I hated being called pretty or beautiful just because some person was forced to for the sake of good manners. To me, it felt more offending, which is why I preferred if one said such words to me from his heart.

Hitsugaya, I believe, did not even have a heart.

"Well?" He asked, tucking his hands in his sleeves. He seemed to enjoy my being flustered over such a basic question.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and answered. "A man is supposed to speak nicely of a woman. Use words that will please her… A complement or a little flattery would do."

He chuckled and covered his mouth with his hand as he did so. I flushed and turned away from him.

"Alright then," I glanced sideways as he talked. "I believe that you, Rukia-san, are really quite pretty. Beautiful is a better term to describe you, I think."

I saw him smile slightly as he went on. "You are petite and graceful in your own offhand way, but it would do good if you smiled a little bit more."

"You say those things with such formality that anyone would not believe them." I told him. My arms were crossed over my chest… But really, I was flattered. No one has really told me such things, except maybe for my childhood friend who I promptly rejected right after he confessed.

"True, which is why I opted to call you stubborn. That seems a lot more honest, doesn't it?"

"I hate you."

"I'm honored."

I was about to retort when the sound of heavy hooves and neighing invaded my ears. I turned and found myself faced with a wild horse, front legs raised in the air and mouth foaming.

My mind was in such a confused state that I froze completely and was unable to move from the spot. I stood rooted there, eyes wide in shock, my hands clamped over my mouth. Finally, when I heard some people screaming and shouting, fear gripped me and caused my knees to give in. I fell helplessly on the dirt road as the hooves came down on me. My eyes clenched shut as I prepared for the pain that was to follow.

Someone called out my name, a deep baritone that I could not recognize and I suddenly felt my arm being tugged painfully. Somehow, my instincts kicked in and I felt myself standing up as my limb was pulled on. My face hit something hard then, something warm. And out of pure curiosity, I forced my eyes to open and saw the most annoyed-looking face I'd ever seen.

Hitsugaya Toushiro exhaled in relief.

I would have felt immensely thankful that I was saved from being stomped on by a horse, but at the moment, my shoulder was troubling me. There was a sharp pain as tried to move it slightly, but it hurt even as I held it in place… I held back a whimper, and instead, looked up and saw that Hitsugaya's eyes were focused on the road where he pulled me from. I could hear the grunts and shouts of men who might have been trying to make the horse calm down… but I was too afraid to confirm it.

Hitsugaya looked down on me, finally, and furrowed his brows.

"Idiot."

….

**Author-person:** This was my first time writing a HitsuRuki and I hope it was alright. The second part will be posted... maybe a a week from now. I'm not really sure. It depends on how much schoolwork will be dumped on me. _--sob--_

I am in dire need of a beta reader. If anyone is interested, please tell me via PM or review and I will check out your profiles…

Thank you very much for reading, and please review!


	2. Prince Charming

**Chapter Two:** Prince Charming

….

**Author-person: **Hello, hello… Terribly sorry for the delay! This has been collecting cobwebs in my 'Unfinished Fanfics' folder for some time now… I thank **LeyCoo **for reminding me that I needed to update this. :D

This is the last chapter of Snow Cone, my first ever HitsuRuki two-shot. Oh, and I forgot to mention this before, but this story is set in the Meiji era. Sort of. Kenshin Himura's time perhaps(?).

I hope you guys like this.

….

I don't get out much. So it really was no surprise if I'd somehow managed to get run over by a rickshaw (as my would-be husband had said), or get squashed by a rampaging horse on my rare walks.

Hmm….

Perhaps I was just caught up in the moment.

I'd hardly recovered from the traumatizing experience I had just gone through a few short moments ago. So, I was not entirely sure whether the odd sparkling things floating around Hitsugaya were the cause of some sort of aftershock, or if they were just the effect of the harsh sunlight beating down on us on that hot summer day.

I was probably seeing things.

I MUST be seeing things.

"Oi,"

There was no other logical explanation as to why I was eyeing him like he was the god-like Adonis he clearly wasn't. I should just calm down, reassess my thoughts and--

"Hey, snap out of it."

He put his long tan finger under my chin, and I felt my open mouth shut with an almost audible click. I blinked in surprise and realized that I was still in the white-haired boy's arms, staring at his brilliant teal orbs that were, at the moment, glinting with mixed amusement and curiosity that left me blushing like a silly little girl with a crush.

"Staring is rude, you know." He sort of drawled, his expression irritable, but his tone hinted with a little humor.

I blinked pathetically, unable to find anything to say to him and bowed my head in embarrassment. I couldn't really do anything else. "I'm sorry."

I realized that I had my hands fisted around the front of his clothes, my knuckles terribly white from clutching the fabric too hard. I would have let out a small gasp if I wasn't aware of how he would react to my being shy. So I let go of the clothing altogether before shifting slightly so that I could stand up from the ground. He held me in place.

"I would very much appreciate it if you let me get on my feet." My irritation quickly came back after taking its remarkably short vacation.

He just arched a very fine white brow and sighed wearily. "You're not hurt, are you? Anywhere at all?"

"No."

"Hm."

And before I knew it, I was already standing on the sidewalk, his warm hand holding mine as if it were the most fragile thing in the world.

I was faintly aware of the stares that the audience we'd somehow gained were giving us. And I managed to get twice as uncomfortable as I would normally have been. I fidgeted nervously and wished that Hitsugaya would hear my mental protests against just standing there in the middle of an already gossiping crowd. My eye twitched as I heard someone comment how… adorable we looked together.

Yes. Adorable. Could you believe how ridiculous these people were?

"Let's go."

Escaping the prying eyes and flapping mouths of the townsfolk was never easy, at least not for someone like me. But Hitsugaya made it seem like the easiest thing in the world. He dodged questions, waved off a horde of worried old women and winced at the slaps on his back by a couple of brawny men who I recognized as carpenters.

"Come on!" He hissed and tugged on my arm. I half-expected him to wrench it off, but he did no such thing.

He breezed through the people without so much as a shrug when he was asked by a few women if he was alright. Most of them were starry-eyed and adopting strange high-pitched voices that seemed to reverberate in my ears even as we had long passed them. I found myself irritated. Partly because I do not quite approve of flirtatious behavior, and partly because they had directed said flirtatious behavior on my fiancé.

I blinked and felt my cheeks heating up. I take it all back. I wasn't the slightest bit irritated. Of course not!

"We're going to see the town physician." Hitsugaya finally slowed down, still clutching on my hand as we crossed the narrow wooden bridge that stretched over a rivulet.

I wanted to protest, really.. I felt absolutely fine! Well, except for the fact that there was a sharp pain on my shoulder… It was bearable, and I felt no need to see a doctor. The pain would eventually pass anyway.

I opened my mouth to say something, but he simply shook his white head as if he knew what I was thinking. "We're going to see the physician." A tone of finality was evident in his voice. He spared me one brief glance and walked on, seemingly brooding about something unknown to me.

We walked in silence.

….

"I'm afraid I have to bandage you up, dear." The physician, Unohana, smiled at me and patted me on the shoulder gently. I winced. "Oh, sorry."

Hitsugaya stood at one corner of the room examining some medical equipment. He hadn't said a single word since we arrived, and I secretly thought that maybe he was having second thoughts about our engagement. It was a good thing, really. I didn't want to get married to anyone like him anyway… it would be far too troublesome and--

"Ehem."

"What is it?" I blinked as Hitsugaya turned his head to face the physician. I had no clue as to why she was eyeing him like that, so I was pretty much as lost as the white-haired boy was.

"Kuchiki-san has to get bandaged, Hitsugaya-san."

"I think you have mentioned that earlier…"

"Oh yes. And it seems that you don't mind being in this room as I tend to her… Ah… but it would seem alright, seeing as she is your fiancée after all."

"What are you sayi--?" His face scrunched up at bit… then, he stiffened. "Oh. I-I see. My apologies."

I reddened as the realization came to me, but I don't think I've seen anyone blush like my supposed fiancé before. He cleared his throat audibly, looking very befuddled and confused at what he was going to do with himself. It was only when the physician had told him to remove himself from the room did Hitsugaya manage to re-organize his scattered thoughts and become more or less coherent again. But even after all that, he still stammered out many more apologies and stumbled clumsily toward the shoji door.

….

After I had gotten my shoulder tended to, we walked out into the warm afternoon sun and proceeded to stroll along the bustling streets of Kyoto. There was an awful lot going on… and I don't think I'll have enough words or visual capacity to describe everything that was happening. There were people. Lots of them. Doing different things, at different paces. There wasn't an idle soul in the place.

I took in as much as this town had to offer, and realized that because of my rather isolated lifestyle, I had missed out on a lot of other things… I seldom had the chance to see what this town was like out of the Kuchiki house's horse-drawn carriages, or walked on these dusty streets for more than a few meters. It all felt very new to me, and I wouldn't have believed that I grew up on these streets for the first six years of my life.

There was an odd feeling at the pit of my stomach. Shame, I think. Because I had been living a life of luxury and had turned my back on my origins. Turned my back on who I truly was. A classic example of someone from rags to riches.

I sighed a little too audibly and the white-haired boy who had been walking in front of me, turned.

"Is there a problem?" He said with an unreadable expression on his (need I admit?) handsome face.

I shook my head and scuffed my sandals on the dirt road. I didn't feel like telling my troubles to anyone right now, much less getting counseling from a stranger. A stranger I supposedly hated. A stranger I was going to marry in the near future.

Hitsugaya only tilted his head to the side. His expression had softened, I could tell. Because he looked so much better with a kinder face.

I blinked at the thought.

"Come," he pulled on my hand again, this time much gentler. "I know just the thing to cheer you up."

My brain kind of died right then and there. Him trying to cheer me up was the last thing on my mind after all. What was going on in that head of his? Was my, er, depression that apparent that he deemed it necessary for a sudden attitude change?

I think I pulled a face, a rather funny one probably, because Hitsugaya was laughing his stupid head off for the rest of the walk.

….

It was a bit strange that he was leading me toward the theatre house with the prospect of cheering me up. Kabuki was the last thing that would have made my mood any better, much less geisha performances. I had always felt a little uncomfortable around them for some reason… even if they were not anything like prostitutes. They were elegant, refined and well-educated in theatrical and musical arts, that much I knew. But I always felt uneasy when I was near them, or when we were simply passing by the okiya.

"Wait here." Hitsugaya said with determined eyes and a commanding voice and ran off to the general direction on the theatre. I tried to stop him, but his being vertically challenged proved to be useful when escaping incapacitated fiancées. All I could manage to do was touch the hem of his sleeve and let out a strangled 'stop' before he disappeared into the crowd.

I sighed and leaned back against the nearest cherry blossom tree. I decided that I would wait for him to come back and endure the performance we were going to watch. He was thoughtful enough to cheer me up, and the least I could do was to watch some dances and verse reciting with him… Apparently he thought that a little entertainment would erase all my troubles. Noblemen often thought that way.

I looked down on my polished sandals and smiled wistfully. They used to be coarse. Worn and tattered. And once, I even walked the streets barefooted…

I'd tucked the memories of my childhood back in the recesses of my mind and found myself unearthing snippets of happier times I'd long forgotten… but during this little walk, it all came flooding back to me. It never occurred to me, when I stepped out of the Kuchiki House, that I would be visiting the streets that I used to play hide-and-seek in, nor had I thought that I would have the chance to see that old man my friends and I used to steal apples from (I could have sworn that he was staring at me).

It was a trip to memory lane. And it was every bit as bitter-sweet as they said it would be.

I looked at my hands stared at them, tracing the lines with my fingers. Once upon a time, they were calloused and rough. I wondered how much it took to make them as soft and smooth as they are right now.

"Here." Hitsugaya had returned and was shoving a snow cone right at my face. I blinked. "It's a snow cone. Take it." He looked away and proceeded to eat his own iced treat.

I took the cone, our fingers slightly brushing, and stared at it. "I thought we were going to watch Kabuki?"

He looked at me, obviously incredulous and shook his white head "Of course not. I tend to fall asleep barely ten minutes after the performances start." he raised a perfectly arched brow, "did you want to watch?"

I took a tentative lick at my snow cone, found myself filled with its coldness and pressed my lips against the colored ice. I looked up at Hitsugaya and found him staring at me. He went a little red in the cheeks and turned away.

I blushed as well. "No. I think this is much better than watching Kabuki." He seemed to find this a good answer and started nodding in a sagely manner.

"Would you mind telling me your problem now?"

Hitsugaya leaned against the spot beside me and cast me a sideways glance. I felt genuinely touched that he was that willing to listen to my petty troubles and found myself wanting to tell him everything.

" I was… born in the streets. Did nii-sama not inform you that I was adopted?" He shook his head and I swallowed hard, "I wasn't allowed to go out much after I'd been taken in the Kuchiki House, so I hadn't had that many chances to visit my old haunts. It's just that… I have a lot of memories outside of the mansion… most of them, happy ones I'd shared with childhood friends. You could say that… I was being sentimental."

Hitsugaya looked at me with understanding eyes. "And you miss being… free?"

I nodded and pressed the shaved ice against my mouth once more. I was happy. Very happy when I was finally accepted into nobility… but I couldn't deny the fact that I missed stealing apples from that balding old man, spending loud days with my friends and running barefoot along the streets.

The white-haired aristocrat sighed and watched as the crowd ebbed and flowed in the distance. He closed his turquoise eyes for a moment.

"If it makes you feel better, I won't treat you like a princess." He said, and I blinked at him with wide eyes.

"I won't scold you when you make rude comments in front of old noblemen, I won't slap your hand when you don't use your chopsticks properly. You can slouch as much as you want, you can run across the halls of my mansion… You can even bring your friends over if you do so wish…"

He turned to face me, a small smile playing on his lips. "You can spent cold, depressing nights on the rooftop… and I'll be there sitting with you and filling your sake cup with as much liquor as you want." Hitsugaya threw the colored paper cone in the nearest trash bin and seemed pleased that he did not miss.

There was something swelling in my chest, then. Something warm and fuzzy and I liked the feeling very much. There was even an odd tingling at the tips of my fingers and no, it wasn't the snow cone in my hands. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't feeling comfortable with him now. But Kuchiki Rukia is not a liar and I will openly admit that maybe…perhaps…possibly… he was not so bad after all.

The prospect of marrying this man in the future… seemed to make me a little bit happier.

"Hitsugaya--"

"Toushirou." He said firmly and took both of my hands in his. He was blushing and I was too distracted to notice that he was closing the distance between us. Hitsu-- Toushirou tip-toed and gently brushed his lips against mine. They were warm. I would not have guessed that he had just eaten shaved ice.

"Toushirou_-san,"_ I said. He grimaced at the honorific and found myself smiling at his expression. "Thank you."

He shrugged and looked away, red still coloring his cheeks.

"Let's take this one step at a time."

….

**Author-person: **I was slightly hyperventilating while writing the last few scenes. XDDD It's not THAT fluffy, but when you're deprived of HitsuRuki for a few months, it kind of does that to you. _That _being the tendency to be over enthusiastic about some **slightly **sweet scenes**. **

I might do a fanart of this, so feel free to check out my deviantART account from time to time (the link is in my profile). Comment on the art is also very much appreciated. XDDD

The story ended up being anticlimactic, though Which is sort of disappointing, I'm sure. But I hope that some of you enjoyed this (even a little).

Error? I am only a review/PM away.

Thank you for reading and please review!


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